1. Field
The disclosure relates generally to monitoring objects and more specifically to monitoring objects in proximity to railroad tracks. Still more particularly, the present disclosure relates to reducing an amount of false positives in detecting rail crossing events.
2. Description of the Related Art
As is known by those of skill in the art, video data can be used in detecting objects crossing railroad tracks. Monitoring objects in proximity to railroad tracks can be useful in improving both safety and security measures for railroad transportation. Objects within a range of a sensor can be monitored to detect if and when the object has crossed onto the railroad tracks. For example, the sensor can monitor to determine a position and a velocity of an object. Conventional systems can compare the position and velocity with information known about the position of the railroad tracks to determine if and when the object has crossed onto the railroad tracks. If the object has crossed onto the railroad tracks, the system may generate an alert to notify proper individuals of the occurrence of the crossing event.
Different types of sensors have been used in monitoring objects. Vision based solutions may include the use of a camera, for example. Vision based solutions may compare successive images to identify movement of an object relative to the railroad tracks. Conventional systems can also include non-visual solutions that employ sensors, such as for example, infrared sensors or motion sensors. The non-visual solutions can detect movement of objects in areas near the sensors.
However, conventional systems have drawbacks that may cause alerts of crossing events to be generated that are false positives. As used herein, a “false positive” is an identification of an occurrence of an event that has in fact not occurred. For example, non-visual solutions may not be able to distinguish between objects that should not be on the railroad tracks with a train that should be on the railroad tracks. In another example, a vision based solution may not be able to accurately distinguish objects moving in view of the camera from objects in the background. Additionally, objects closer to the camera may appear larger than objects further from the camera. An object may have appeared to have crossed onto the railroad tracks when the object is merely closer to the camera than the railroad tracks.
The number of false positives generated decreases the reliability in detecting rail crossing events. As the reliability decreases, the usefulness and importance of alerts generated by conventional systems also decreases. Accordingly, it would be advantageous to have a method and apparatus, which takes into account one or more of the issues discussed above as well as possibly other issues.